


that fascinating focus

by Chet_Un_Gwan



Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Blood, M/M, On the Run, Whumptober 2020, yes I quoted a mug in this let me live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chet_Un_Gwan/pseuds/Chet_Un_Gwan
Summary: Day five: Where do you think you’re going? On the run/Failed escape/Rescue
Relationships: Cassander Timaeus Berenice/Ibex
Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956517
Kudos: 1





	that fascinating focus

Ibex leaned against the motel door, listening carefully. There was no noise from inside, and given his current limitations, that was about the extent of the recon that he could accomplish. Cassander would be back soon, hopefully with a pilfered hotel key, and they could go in to check more thoroughly. For now, all Ibex could do was lean here and try not to bleed anywhere obvious.

The deep cuts around both his shoulders were not making that easy. He couldn’t even lean on the door unless he rested his head against it, holding his back off of the plastic.

He was tired. A deep kind of tired, one that likely wasn’t going to fixed anytime soon, and one that had been lurking for a lot longer than this clusterfuck of a mission. If Ibex thought about it too carefully, that he had been tired for years now and there was no end in sight, it would only make him more tired. Only press home that in fact, the most relaxing time he had had lately was with Cass at his side.

And look how that had turned out.

“You still awake?” Ibex slid his eyes over to see Cassander coming around the corner of the building, white keycard in their hand. Ibex nodded, and smiled sharply at them.

There was a note of relief in their eyes, before it was replaced with that fascinating focus. “Good. I got a look at the owner’s records, this room hasn’t been let out to anyone for a week. Guess there isn’t much business this far out.”

They slid the keycard into the slot above the handle, and together, Cassander and Ibex went in. Cass took point, moving forwards and scanning the room. Ibex checked after them, opening the bathroom, the closet, anywhere a person could conceivably fit. There was no one there.

Ibex took a deep breath, feeling part of his lingering tension ease, and then nodded to Cass and then the bathroom. “I’m going to wash out my shoulders. Can you do the check for bugs?”

“The electronic kind, or the organic kind?” they asked, making a face as they looked at the beds.

Ibex felt himself give a laugh, unexpectedly. “Either,” he said, and shut the bathroom door.

The first thing he did was carefully peal off his shirt, delicate where the dried blood had stuck it to his wounds. It was hard to lift his arms, the cuts burning with the movement. Looking around, he found the thin, worn washcloth and ran it under the faucet to get the damp.

Throughout this, he had managed to avoid looking in the mirror, but the next step rather required it. He looked up from the sink and met his own eyes.

He _looked_ tired. Cass must have seen it, everyone must have seen it. His perfect image slowly slipping away. Dark shadows under his eyes, weight that he could not afford to lose, lost. He looked worn down.

Ibex closed his eyes, took a calming breath. When he opened them again, he focused on his injuries, and did not look high enough to see his own face.

As he was finishing up, Ibex suddenly heard a new voice from the main room. “Heeyyyyy, Cass!” Was that… Mako? “How’s your camping trip going?”

He heard Cass give an unsteady chuckle. “Oh, it’s going.”

“Are you. Are you in a motel room? That looks like the windows of a shitty motel room.”

The windows. So whatever phone Cass was using was pointed away from the bathroom. Ibex poked his head out and met Cass’s eyes. They looked caught.

“Well..” they dragged out, “Things kind of took a wrong turn, some assholes turned up at the uh. Camping site, and I had to leave.”

Ibex mouthed _camping site?_ at Cass, who winced.

“Wait, camping site?” Mako asked. “I thought you were going backpacking.”

“I was! I uhh… stopped at a more populated camping site partway there. And then I caught a ride? With another camper. To this motel!”

“Uh huh,” said Mako, and even Ibex, who had admittedly not spent an abundance of time with the Chime as a whole, could tell that he didn’t buy it. “You keep saying ‘camping’, but it’s starting to feel more like you’re on the run.”

Cass looked vaguely panicked.

Just then there was a ringing noise. “Ooh!” Mako exclaimed. “That must be the real estate guy! We’ll chat later, byyyye Cass!”

“Mako, wait-“ The phone cut Cass off. They looked a little relieved and a lot baffled. Ibex took the moment to step fully out of the bathroom.

“I suppose that counts as having gone well?” he asked.

Cass scowled at him. “Shut up. Get over here, I have to stitch that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Damn, I'm realizing how ooc some of these ficlets sound, but in my defense, I'm cherrypicking whump moments from a longer fic idea, and most of them come from later in the fic when the two of them have spent more time being forced to work together.


End file.
